Goal picks the top performers from across the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, the Premier League and Serie A over the first half of the 2019-20 campaign
While we've only reached the halfway point of most European seasons, we've already seen a number of players well and truly stand out for their respective teams.
From Liverpool's versatile defenders to Bayern Munich's unstoppable striker, there are a few names that have starred more than others.
Getty ImagesGK: Keylor Navas (Paris Saint-Germain)
Keylor Navas has never hidden his disappointment at how he was offloaded by Real Madrid after helping the Blancos win three consecutive Champions League titles and the Costa Rican is now showing at Paris Saint-Germain just why he felt so hard done by.
No goalkeeper across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues has kept more clean sheets in all competitions than the 33-year-old (12), while of the shot-stoppers to have played at least 10 games this term, Navas has the best save percentage (83.02).
AdvertisementGettyRB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Despite stiff competition from Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich, Trent Alexander-Arnold gets the nod at right-back for the remarkably influential role he's played in Liverpool establishing themselves as the best team in the world.
The England international's cross-field passes, deadly crosses and pin-point set-piece deliveries have made him one of the Premier League leaders' most potent attacking weapons, as illustrated by the fact that he has already racked up 10 assists in all competitions this season.
Getty ImagesCB: Chris Smalling (Roma)
A strong contender for the signing of the season so far, Chris Smalling has settled seamlessly into the Roma backline since joining from Manchester United during the summer for a loan fee of just €3 million (£2.7m).
The English centre-half has formed a formidable partnership with Gianluca Mancini at the heart of the Giallorossi defence, even popping up at the other end of the field with a couple of goals.
Roma's only issue now is trying to seal a permanent transfer for a player who has completely rebuilt his reputation and is likely to attract interest from several other clubs at the end of the season.
GettyCB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk may have narrowly missed out on becoming the first defender to win the Ballon d'Or since 2006 but the classy Dutchman won't mind too much, given Liverpool are on course to end their Premier League drought, having already been crowned Club World Cup champions.
The centre-half has been well supported this season by Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren but Van Dijk is the man who binds the whole Reds defence together, the calm colossus who has won more aerial challenges (126) than any other defender in Europe's 'Big Five' leagues this season.